Senegalese Voters Hit the Polls to Choose Their Next Leader

Dakar — Senegalese voters are casting ballots after outgoing President Macky Sall’s attempt to delay the elections plunged the country into months of political crisis. 

It’s a day many have been waiting for, including Jules Rolland Pascal Diatta. He was the first to cast his ballot in voting room number seven at a school about 30 minutes outside Dakar’s city center. He arrived two and half hours before the poll officially opened.

“I see that they are actually on time and open at 8 a.m. sharp. This is a very important election for me and everyone here. I like my candidate because he has a solid and well-defined program that I think could save Senegal,” he said.

He says he voted for the coalition led by Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

Faye, a former tax inspector, is backed by Ousmane Sonko — who was seen as the key challenger to outgoing President Macky Sall. Sonko was barred from running in this year’s elections over a previous defamation conviction. Both Faye and Sonko were recently released from prison.

Another voter, Ahmadou Khadim Lo, hopes for job creation to be the number one goal for the next leader.

“Seventy-five percent of the Senegalese population is young and many of them have diplomas but can’t find jobs,” he said.

A sentiment echoed by Khady Diagne who spoke to us before casting her vote.

“Living conditions are difficult here. The health care system is poor, there are no jobs, I could spend an entire year telling you about all the problems our country has,” she said.

About 17 candidates are vying for the top job, including former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, who is endorsed by Sall.

Seynabou Faye told us she wants a continuation of the policies of the current regime.

“I just love Macky Sall. He’s done more work than any other president before him. He’s built bridges, the Bus Rapid Transit system, stadiums, roads. I would like to see Amadou Ba win so he can work on some of Sall’s unfinished projects,” said Faye.

Ndoumbe Gueye is the head of voting room number 7 at the polling station in the neighborhood of Scat Urbam. She explained the voting process.

“Once a voter comes in, he or she shows me their national identification card first,” she said. “My team verifies that the person is registered, and this is the right place for them to vote. Then they can pick 5 out of the 19 candidates, pick up an envelope, and proceed to the voting booth. Their final choice can be inserted into the envelope and submitted. Once that’s done, they come back to us and dip their small finger in ink [to show they’ve voted].”

Observers from many organizations are also present, including some from the European Union which sent 100 observers all over the country. Malin Bjork, who heads the group which arrived in early January, held a news conference Sunday morning.

“What we’ve been able to observe is that the polling started on time with sometimes long lines, which shows that people are motivated and interested in voting. The material was in place and the rules were followed by all voting centers,” said Bjork.

Senegal has always been seen as a stable democracy in a region plagued by coups, until recently when President Sall tried unsuccessfully to postpone last month’s elections by 10 months. While Sall said he would not seek a third term, his critics accused him of wanting to hold on to power.

Whoever wins, today’s elections are a chance to maybe put those uncertainties to rest.

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Chad Interim President Deby and PM Cleared for Presidential Election 

N’DJAMENA — Chad’s Constitutional Council on Sunday cleared 10 candidates for this year’s long-awaited presidential election, including interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby and the country’s recently-appointed prime minister. 

The central African nation is scheduled to hold the first round of a presidential election in May as part of a transition back to democracy from junta rule. 

Deby initially promised an 18-month transition to elections after he seized power in 2021, when his long-ruling father was killed in clashes with rebels. 

But his government later adopted resolutions that postponed elections until 2024 and allowed him to run for president, triggering protests that were violently quelled by security forces. 

In December, Chadians voted in favor of a new constitution that critics said could help cement Deby’s grip on power as it allowed him to run for the presidency. 

Deby confirmed his intention to run earlier this month.  

The candidate list released on Sunday included opposition leader Succes Masra, appointed as prime minister of the transitional government in January. 

It is the first time is Chad’s history that a president and a prime minister will face each other in a presidential poll.  

A staunch opponent of Chad’s junta, Masra had fled the country after dozens were killed when security forces cracked down on demonstrations in the capital N’Djamena in October 2022. 

The first round of voting is scheduled to take place on May 6 and the second round on June 22, with provisional results due on July 7. 

Chad’s military government is one of several juntas currently ruling in West and Central Africa. There have been eight coups in the region since 2020, sparking concerns of a democratic backslide. 

It is the first of those transitional authorities to organize elections. 

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Senegal Votes in Presidential Election After Months of Unrest

DAKAR, Senegal — Polls opened in Senegal on Sunday morning in a tightly contested presidential race that followed months of uncertainty and unrest that has tested the West African nation’s reputation as a stable democracy in a region that experienced a wave of coups in recent years.

The roads were largely deserted early in the morning in Senegal’s capital and the nation’s elite police force were stationed all over the city in armored vehicles. Outside polling centers, police checked voters cards as men and women in formal dress lined up.

The election is being held weeks after President Macky Sall unsuccessfully tried to call it off until the end of the year. Sall is barred from running for a third term due to constitutional term limits. As a result, the vote is taking place during Ramadan, the holy month when observant Muslims fast from dawn until dusk.

The election is set to be the nation’s fourth democratic transfer of power since Senegal gained independence from France in 1960. The process has been marred by violence and unrest, and hundreds of opposition protesters have been arrested and jailed.

There are 19 candidates in the race, including one woman, the highest number in the nation’s history.

“This is poised to be the most competitive election since the introduction of multiparty politics,” Tochi Eni-Kalu, Africa analyst at the Eurasia Group, told The Associated Press.

Analysts say no candidate is expected to win more than 50% of the vote, which means a runoff between leading candidates is widely expected. These include Amadou Ba, a former prime minister, and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who is backed by popular opposition figure Ousmane Sonko.

Sonko, who came third in the previous election, was barred from running in January because of a prior conviction for defamation. He has faced a slew of legal troubles in recent years that supporters say are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy.

Other potential frontrunners are Khalifa Sall, a former mayor of Dakar unrelated to the president, and Idrissa Seck, a former prime minister from the early 2000s who was the runner up in the 2019 presidential race.

Two candidates dropped out this week to back Faye’s candidacy, a sign of the start of coalition-building that could determine the outcome of the race, according to analysts.

At the forefront of concerns for many Senegalese voters is the economy, which has been squeezed by high food and energy prices partly driven by the war in Ukraine. Unemployment among the nation’s youth is widespread, driving thousands to risk their lives on dangerous journeys in search of jobs in the West.

“Jobs are really, truly the priority. Everyone can see that unemployment is taking over,” said Oumy Sarr, a political activist. “The second priority is the high cost of living in Senegal today. What is to be done to improve people’s living conditions? Inflation is rising, everyone is tired.”

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Nearly 300 Abducted Schoolchildren in Nigeria Freed

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nearly 300 kidnapped Nigerian schoolchildren have been released, local officials said Sunday, more than two weeks after the children were seized from their school in the northwestern state of Kaduna and marched into the forests.

At least 1,400 students have been kidnapped from Nigerian schools since 2014, when Boko Haram militants kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls from Borno state’s Chibok village in 2014. In recent years, abductions have been concentrated in the country’s northwestern and central regions, where dozens of armed groups often target villagers and travelers for ransom.

Kaduna state Gov. Uba Sani did not give details of the release of the 287 students abducted from their school in the remote town of Kuriga on March 7, at least 100 of them aged 12 or younger. In a statement, he thanked Nigerian President Bola Tinubu “particularly ensuring that the abducted school children are released unharmed.”

Tinubu had vowed to rescue the children “without paying a dime” as ransom. But ransoms are commonly paid for kidnappings, often arranged by families, and it is rare for officials in Nigeria to admit to the payments.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Kaduna kidnapping, which locals have blamed on bandit groups known for mass killings and kidnappings for ransom in the conflict-battered northern region, most of them former herders in conflict with settled communities.

At least two people with extensive knowledge of the security crisis in Nigeria’s northwest told The Associated Press that the identity of the abductors is known.

Murtala Ahmed Rufa’i, a professor of peace and conflict studies at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, and Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a cleric who has negotiated with the bandits, said they are hiding in the region’s vast and ungoverned forests.

Arrests are rare in Nigeria’s mass kidnappings, as victims are usually released only after desperate families pay ransoms or through deals with government and security officials.

The Kaduna governor thanked Nigerian security forces and officials for the release of the students. “I spent sleepless nights with the national security adviser, Mal. Nuhu Ribadu … fine-tuning strategies and coordinating the operations of the security agencies, which eventually resulted in this successful outcome,” he said.

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Uganda Sees Bamboo as a Crop with Real Growth Potential

ALONG RIVER RWIZI, Uganda — Along a stretch of bush by a muddy river, laborers dug and slashed in search of bamboo plants buried under dense grass. Here and there a few plants had sprouted tall, but most of the bamboo seedlings planted more than a year ago never grew.

Now, environment protection officers seeking to restore a 3-kilometer stretch of the river’s degraded banks were aiming to plant new bamboo seedlings, clear room for last year’s survivors to grow and look after them better than they did the first time.

A successful bamboo forest by the river Rwizi — the most important in a large part of western Uganda that includes the major city of Mbarara — would create a buffer zone against sand miners, subsistence farmers and others whose activities have long threatened the river. The National Environment Management Authority estimates that the Rwizi has lost 60% of its water catchment area over the decades, and in some areas this winding river runs as narrow as a stream.

“Once bamboo is established, it is almost like a net,” said Jeconious Musingwire, an environment officer who was the project’s technical adviser. “The roots trap everything, including the surface runoff, and stabilize the weaknesses of the banks.”

Uganda is seeing growing interest in bamboo, a perennial plant cultivated in many parts of the world. It can be burned for fuel in rural communities, taking pressure off dwindling forest reserves of eucalyptus and other natural resources. It’s a hardy plant that can grow almost anywhere. And businesses can turn it into products ranging from furniture to toothpicks.

Some of the bamboo species grown in Uganda are imported from Asia, but many — like one whose shoots are smoked and then boiled to make a popular traditional meal in eastern Uganda — grow wild.

The Ugandan government has set a 10-year policy that calls for planting 300,000 hectares of bamboo, most of it on private land, by 2029 as part of wider reforestation efforts.

That’s an ambitious target. The Uganda Bamboo Association, the largest such group with 340 members, has planted only 500 hectares. Even with growing interest in bamboo farming, authorities will have to encourage more farmers in rural parts of Uganda to plant vast tracts of land with bamboo.

But signs are promising.

Not far from the scene where laborers were tending bamboo plants sits a large commercial farm that includes seven acres of bamboo. The plants at Kitara Farm were well-tended, and a stockpile of 10,000 bamboo poles sat waiting to be sold.

Caretaker Joseph Katumba said the property has become something of a demonstration farm for people who want to learn more about bamboo. He recalled that when they first began planting bamboo in 2017, some people asked why they were “wasting land” by planting bamboo when it grows wild in the bush.

Katumba said that’s changed, with skeptics now interested in planting bamboo “because they have studied it and they love it.” Unlike eucalyptus — a tall flowering plant widely planted here for its timber — “there is no bamboo season. The more you look after it well, weeding around it, the more and more years you will earn from bamboo.”

Bamboo grows faster than eucalyptus and regenerates like a weed. It also can thrive in poor soil. Kitara Farm stopped planting new eucalyptus lots while its bamboo acreage continues to expand, he said.

“We have so many eucalyptus forests. But we realized that once you cut the eucalyptus trees, eventually they get finished, and once they are finished there is no more money,” he said. “But with bamboo, we investigated and found out that when you plant it … the grandkids and their grandkids and their grandkids will earn from bamboo.”

A single bamboo pole brings a little less than a dollar, so farmers need to grow a lot to earn enough. Bamboo promoters are urging them to see a bamboo plantation as the same kind of cash crop as coffee or tea estates. Banks are offering bamboo “plantation capital” to clients, loans that promise ownership of substantial acres of bamboo.

“Each person should actually plant bamboo, and a lot of it,” said Taga Nuwagaba, a bamboo farmer and businessman who owns a bamboo furniture factory near the Ugandan capital of Kampala. He touts the plant as a a renewable resource that sequesters carbon, too.

“You cut one, five will grow,” he said.

Bamboo plants are normally ready for harvesting in three to five years, and a well-maintained plantation can be useful for at least 50 years, said Jacob Ogola, an agronomist who is working as a consultant at Kitara Farm. He said bamboo is easy to manage, and typically doesn’t need spraying for pests.

Bamboo seedlings are now more widely available via private nursery beds.

Steve Tusiime, a self-described bamboo collector, owns one such nursery in Mbarara. Tusiime said he’s been fascinated by the plant since seeing one as a boy. Before he got into growing, he recalls traveling to a farm in central Uganda to “hug” bamboo plants, and in 2018 spending his own money to attend a bamboo convention in China, where he got his first bamboo seeds.

Standing on another stretch of land by the river Rwizi where he and his partners have created a bamboo park in a recreation resort still to be commissioned, he waxed lyrical about how bamboo “energizes” him.

“Each bamboo you see here has a story. It has where it comes from and it has different use and it has a different name,” he said. “When you come here the story is bamboo. You learn about different species, different uses. You see different features of bamboo.”

Still, Uganda’s bamboo plantations aren’t growing fast enough to build an industry around the plant. Tusiime’s nursery has sold fewer than 10,000 seedlings in the past two years, confounding his own assessment of bamboo as an important cash crop which also happens to benefit the environment.

“Bamboo can be a future tree for Uganda or for even Africa. For example, you’ve heard people talking about charcoal and firewood and this and that. Bamboo is a better solution,” he said. “You can produce the briquette, you can use it directly as firewood. Bamboo is going to be a game changer in Africa. You can eat bamboo, you can use it to build, you can create an industry for bamboo, you can feed it to your animals, and it can take care of your land.”

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Senegalese Voters Go to Polls in Delayed Presidential Election

DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal goes to the polls on Sunday to vote for its fifth president in a delayed election being held against a turbulent political backdrop which has triggered violent anti-government protests and boosted support for the opposition.

At stake is the potential end of a regime that has sustained investor-friendly policies in the soon-to-become oil and gas producer, but which has failed to alleviate economic hardship and stirred unrest in one of coup-prone West Africa’s most stable democracies.

Nineteen contenders are vying to replace President Macky Sall, who is stepping down after a second term marred by violent unrest over the prosecution of firebrand opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and concerns that Sall wanted to extend his mandate past the constitutional limit.

The incumbent is not on the ballot for the first time in Senegal’s history. His ruling coalition has picked former prime minister Amadou Ba, 62, as its candidate.

“I believe that I’m the candidate that offers political stability, serenity, and the capacity to move Senegal forward rapidly,” Ba told journalists as campaigning closed Friday. “Senegal does not need a complete overhaul.”

Around 7.3 million people are registered to vote, with polls opening at 0800 GMT and closing at 1800 GMT.

Vote counting will start immediately after polls close and provisional results are expected by March 26.

Sonko, who was disqualified from the race due to a defamation conviction, is backing former tax inspector Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 43, co-creator of the now dissolved Pastef party. Some high-profile politicians and opposition candidates have also backed Faye’s candidacy.

Other contenders include ex-Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall (no relation to the outgoing president), entrepreneur-turned-politician Anta Babacar Ngom, who is the only woman running, and veteran politician Idrissa Seck, who came second in the 2019 presidential election.

Without any opinion polls, it is not clear whether any candidate will secure over 50% of the vote to prevent a runoff.

‘Diomaye is Sonko’

Macky Sall, first elected in 2012, is leaving on a drop in popularity that worsened when he unsuccessfully sought to postpone the vote — initially scheduled on February 25 — to December.

The move stoked unrest and concerns about authoritarian overreach in the nation of around 18 million. It also buoyed opposition parties that rejected all attempts to delay the vote which could have extended the president’s mandate.

Senegal’s Constitutional Council sided with opposition parties, ruling that the vote should go ahead and that Sall’s mandate could not be extended beyond April 2.  

An amnesty law passed to ease tensions this month meanwhile allowed Sonko, and Faye — who had also been in detention for nearly a year, on charges including defamation and contempt of court — to be released.

Both have hit the campaign trail under the banner “Diomaye is Sonko” as a crowd-pleasing duo.

Sonko, who came third in the last election in 2019, is particularly popular among urban youth frustrated with lack of jobs and high living costs in a country where 60% of the population is younger than 25.

“The election will show whether their popularity on social media is real,” said Senegalese political analyst Babacar Ndiaye.

Most of Sonko’s supporters are now expected to vote for Faye, analysts say. He has promised to root out allegedly entrenched corruption, restore stability and prioritize economic sovereignty.

But some of Faye’s campaign promises, such as plans to renegotiate oil contracts just as Senegal is due to begin offshore oil and gas production, and the introduction of a national currency, have raised concerns that these could hurt the country’s image as a destination for investors. 

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Islamic State Claims Attack on Niger Army That Killed Dozens

cairo — The Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for an attack Wednesday on Niger’s army that it said had killed 30 soldiers. 

The group said in a statement carried by its Amaq news agency and posted on its Telegram channel that the soldiers were killed in an ambush on a convoy near the town of Teguey in the Tillaberi region in the west of the country. 

Niger’s defense ministry said late Thursday that 23 soldiers were killed in the attack, which also wounded 17 more. Around 30 attackers were killed, it added. 

Niger is one of several West African countries battling an Islamist insurgency that has spread outward from Mali over the past 12 years, killing thousands and uprooting millions of people. 

Frustrations over authorities’ failure to protect civilians has spurred military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger since 2020. 

The juntas that seized power have cut ties with Western allies assisting local military efforts, kicking out French and other European forces and turning to Russia instead. 

Niger’s junta last week revoked a military accord that allows military personnel and civilian staff from the U.S. Department of Defense on its soil. 

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Cholera Kills At Least 54 in Somalia; Humanitarians Call for Action

washington — At least 54 people have lost their lives to cholera in Somalia in recent months. Nine of those deaths occurred within the past week, marking the highest weekly death toll this year, humanitarian group Save the Children said.   

In an interview with VOA Somali, Mohamed Abdulkadir, acting operations director for Save the Children Somalia, said the statistic highlights how vulnerable children are to the deadly disease. 

“In collaboration with Somalia’s Ministry of Health and Human Services, Save the Children reveals that among 4,388 confirmed cases in 2024, 59% belong to children under the age of five,” Abdulkadir said. 

In the southern states of the country, Mogadishu, the country’s capital, has experienced a significant surge in reported cholera cases in the past two weeks. 

Abdulkadir said 586 new cases have been reported in 23 districts, with 331 of them affecting children under the age of five. 

The outbreak, which began in January of this year, is believed to be a direct consequence of severe flooding that occurred in October and November 2023.

“We believe that the recent devastating flooding in areas like Mogadishu, Beledweyne and Baidoa has contributed to the outbreak of the disease,” said Abdulkadir.   

He said Save the Children is urgently calling for action from local governments and health agencies to combat the rapid spread of cholera. 

“We call for an action from the Somali federal government and the local governments to fight against this highly contagious disease, which primarily spreads through contaminated water areas with inadequate sewage treatment, flooded regions,” he said.

People who lack safe drinking water are particularly susceptible to the cholera outbreak, especially in the wake of flooding, he added.

To prevent further transmission of the disease, he said Save the Children is implementing an emergency response strategy. The aid agency is establishing two cholera treatment centers, providing essential hygiene kits and water treatment supplies in Beledweyne. 

Abdulkadir emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating that Somalia is at the forefront of the climate crisis. 

He said the combination of relentless rainfall, floods, and a devastating drought has left children and families extremely vulnerable to illness. He stressed the urgent need for clean drinking water and sanitation facilities to prevent the cholera outbreak from spiraling out of control when the rainy season begins in a month. 

In 2023, Somalia recorded more than 18,300 cases of cholera, with 10,000 of those cases affecting children under the age of five. Both Save the Children and the Somali government attributed the devastating rise in numbers to the destructive El Nino flooding in November and December, which destroyed toilets and latrines. Consequently, many communities, particularly those recently displaced by flooding and conflict, resorted to open defecation. 

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Algeria Scolds TV Stations for Ramadan Advertising, Immoral Programming

ALGIERS, Algeria — Officials in Algeria are chiding television stations over the content choices they’ve made since the start of Ramadan last week, injecting religion into broader discussions about how the country regulates content and advertising in media.

Their criticisms come amid broader struggles facing journalists and broadcasters, where television stations and newspapers have historically relied heavily on advertising from the government and large state-aligned enterprises in the oil-rich nation.

After meeting with station directors on Sunday, Algerian Communications Minister Mohamed Lagab accused networks of not respecting ethical and professional lines, calling their programmatic choices “out of keeping with the social traditions of our society and especially the sacredness of the month of Ramadan.”

Lagab, a former journalism school professor, preemptively rebuffed accusations of censorship, arguing that his ministry’s push didn’t run counter to Algeria’s constitutional press freedom guarantees.

“Television stations have the right to criticize, but not by attacking our society’s moral values,” he said.

Though he did not explicitly name any specific stations or programs, Lagab cited soap operas as a particular concern. His ministry last week summoned a director for the country’s largest private station, Echourouk, over a soap opera called El Barani that showed characters consuming alcohol and snorting cocaine — depictions that sparked rebuke from viewers concerned they were incompatible with Ramadan.

Lagab also criticized stations for dedicating excessive airtime to advertising, so much so that it rivaled the run time of certain shows. “If we put advertising (and programs) side by side, we would conclude they last longer than the soap operas broadcast,” Lagab said.

His remarks followed statements from Algeria’s Authority of Audiovisual Regulations, which polices television and radio stations. Throughout March, it has called on national television stations to rein in advertising and respect families and viewers during Ramadan, a holy month observed throughout the Muslim-majority country and broader region.

Lagab’s two-pronged attack — against stations’ content and advertising — is the latest challenge facing Algerian television stations, which are preparing for deepened financial strain as the government prepares new regulations on advertising in media. In anticipation of a new law, stations, especially private ones, have ramped up advertising to an unprecedented extent, hoping to rake in profits before the government sets new limits.

The advertising blitz has been particularly pronounced since Ramadan began last week. As demand increases for food and other consumer products used throughout the holy month, stations have found no shortage of advertisers.

Even if stations don’t change course after meeting with Lagab, experts say the government’s criticisms are unlikely to escalate into punishments like sanctions or fines.

“Most of these channels are politically aligned with the government and zealously support it,” said Kamal Ibri, a journalist whose news website closed for lack of advertising revenue.

Algeria’s largest television stations are a mixture of publicly and privately owned. Networks including the private Echourouk, private El Bilad and the state-owned ENTV broadcast news and other programming, including soap operas. In prior years, viewers have grown accustomed to special Ramadan-specific programs during that period.

Though some private channels have begun platforming opposition parties recently, few broadcast pointed criticisms of the government. Those that do have in recent years been penalized.

Journalist Ihsane El Kadi ‘s media company, which oversaw web television and radio programming was shuttered and had its equipment confiscated. He was sentenced to prison for “threatening state security” in April 2023.

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Burkina Faso’s Security Forces Are Killing Civilians, Say Survivors of One Massacre

DAKAR, Senegal — Women slain with babies wrapped against their bodies, lifeless children intertwined together, a baby on the ground with puppies crawling on his tiny frame. The scenes were horrifying, but the 32-year-old farmer documented them, proof of the carnage in his central Burkina Faso village.

More than a dozen relatives were killed November 5 when security forces attacked with trucks, guns and drones, he told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, for fear of retaliation. He said he hid in a neighbor’s compound and took a series of photos before fleeing the next morning.

Dozens more were killed that day in Zaongo village, according to his account and that of two other survivors, as well as a U.N. report citing government figures. The images the man sent to the AP and the interviews with the three survivors are rare firsthand accounts amid a stark increase in civilian killings by Burkina Faso’s security forces as the junta struggles to beat back a growing jihadi insurgency and attacks citizens under the guise of counterterrorism.

Most attacks — including the slaying of children by soldiers at a military base last year, uncovered in an AP investigation — go unpunished and unreported in a nation run by a repressive leadership that silences perceived dissidents.

More than 20,000 people have been killed since jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group first hit the West African nation nine years ago, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit. The fighting has divided a once peaceful population, blockaded dozens of cities and led to two military coups.

Burkina Faso’s government spokesman didn’t respond to requests for comment about the November 5 attack. Previously, officials have denied killing civilians and said jihadis often disguise themselves as soldiers.

The three survivors told AP they’re certain the men were security forces. They describe them wearing military uniforms, one with a Burkina Faso flag fastened to him. The farmer saw a helicopter flying toward the village in the attack’s aftermath — those are used solely by the military, not insurgents.

The United Nations urged the government to investigate, hold those responsible accountable and compensate victims, said Seif Magango of the U.N. Human Rights Office.

Burkina Faso’s prosecutor’s office said it opened an investigation. Four months later, survivors said they had no news.

‘They massacred them’

It was early Sunday morning when the farmer heard gunshots in the distance. Violence in Namentenga province is frequent, locals said; shootings and patrolling soldiers are common.

About 3 p.m., the farmer said, hundreds of men — most in military fatigues — stormed through on motorbikes and trucks and started indiscriminately killing people.

He hid at the neighbor’s home, he said, and after hours of gunshots, the man with the flag entered.

“The soldier told us that his colleagues were in the other compound,” the farmer said. “He said he didn’t want to hurt us, but if the others realized we were still alive, they’d kill us.”

When the guns stopped, he said, he left the compound and saw Zaongo littered with the dead.

It’s unclear what prompted the attack, but locals said most times, security forces think villagers are working with extremists.

Junta today

Since seizing power in September 2022, the junta has threatened rights groups and journalists and carried out attacks against civilians. It’s on a war footing as it tries to beat back the jihadis, who’ve overtaken more than half the country, according to conflict analysts and experts.

The junta is distancing itself from regional and Western nations that don’t agree with its approach. This year, it left the West African regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS and created an alliance with Mali and Niger, also run by military juntas.

The junta severed military ties with former colonial ruler France. Officials have welcomed several dozen Russians tasked in part with keeping the junta in power, according to several conflict experts and a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter.

In November, days after the Zaongo massacre, 50 Russians arrived in Burkina Faso to protect the junta, influence public opinion and provide security services, said Lou Osborn with All Eyes on Wagner, a project focusing on the Russian mercenary group, which operates in a handful of African countries.

The United States said it has suspended assistance to Burkina Faso’s military but still supplies nonlethal equipment to civilian security forces such as the national police. In January, it delivered nearly 100 bikes and pickups.

“We are not aware of any diversion or misuse of recent equipment,” it said. “We take allegations seriously and will continue to monitor and evaluate.”

Civilians in the middle

During the November 5 attack, men in military uniforms speaking French and local language Moore called for men to leave their houses, a 45-year-old mother told AP.

Through the window of the home where she hid, she said, she saw more than 15 relatives killed.

She said a soldier motioned for her to lie down silently. The men dressed, looked and sounded like soldiers who pass through inspecting people’s documents, she said.

The third survivor who spoke to AP, a 55-year-old man, said villagers had been accused of working with jihadis because they refused to join tens of thousands of volunteers fighting alongside the military.

‘We’re frightened’

Survivors fear that bodies still lie on the ground rotting in Zaongo, now occupied by jihadis. Some relatives returned a week after the deaths, but there were too many bodies and not enough time to bury them, they said.

It’s still unclear how many were killed – reports from survivors, the U.N. and aid groups vary, from 70 to more than 200.

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DR Congo Facing Alarming Levels of Violence, Hunger, Poverty, Disease

geneva — The World Health Organization warns that hunger, poverty, malnutrition, and disease have reached alarming levels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, especially in the east, where a resurgence of fighting between armed groups and government forces has uprooted millions of people from their homes. 

“DRC is the second-largest displacement crisis globally after Sudan, with more people forced to flee the violence since the start of the year,” said Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative to the DRC. 

Speaking from the capital, Kinshasa, Sambo told journalists in Geneva Friday that a combination of violence, climate shocks, and epidemics has worsened the humanitarian and overall health situation for millions of people who are struggling to find enough food to eat, a safe place to stay, and help to ward off disease outbreaks.   

“Hospitals are overwhelmed with injured people,” he said. “Close to 10 million people are on the move. Poverty and hunger affect a quarter of the population or 25.4 million people. The spread of cholera and other infectious diseases pose significant threats to the populations health.”   

United Nations relief agencies say more than two of every five children in the DRC — around 6 million children — suffer from chronic malnutrition, a condition that causes stunting, impairs cognitive development, and in cases of severe acute malnutrition, a risk of death. 

Sambo said that, “Combined to malnutrition, diseases are increasing the risk of mortality, especially in children, and putting even more pressure on the health system.  

“Women and girls are paying the high price of armed conflict and displacement,” he said, noting that “30,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported in the DRC in 2023. These numbers are among the highest in the world.” 

Flooding heightens risk 

Besides conflict-related challenges, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, says severe flooding has wreaked havoc in 18 of the DRCs 26 provinces, leaving more than 2 million people, nearly 60%  of them children, in need of assistance.   

The WHO says floods are worsening the risk of diarrheal and water-borne diseases. That, as well as the outbreak of other diseases, including cholera, measles, polio, yellow fever, anthrax, and plague, has brought an already fragile health system to its knees.   

“DRC is facing its worst cholera outbreak since 2017 with 50,000 suspected cases and 470 deaths recorded in 2023,” said Sambo, adding that the risk is particularly high in sites for internally displaced people where “living conditions are dire.” 

He said the country is also battling its largest measles epidemic since 2019, with close to 28,000 cases with 750 deaths so far this year   

“The combination of measles and malnutrition has a severe health impact on children under five years of age and the lack of access to vaccines and vaccination services further exacerbate the situation,” he said. 

Threat of mpox grows

In addition to those problems, the WHO warns mpox — previously known as monkeypox — has been on the rise across the country over the last year, with nearly 4,000 suspected cases and 271 deaths reported.  

That represents a higher case fatality than was seen during a year-long, WHO-declared international public health emergency for the disease that began in May 2022. More than two thirds of the current cases, it says, are reported in children.   

Mpox, a zoonotic disease first detected in a 9-month-old in 1970 in the DRC, when the country was known as Zaire.  Dr. Rosamund Lewis, WHO technical lead for mpox, says children continue to be most at risk of getting infected with and dying from the disease.  

“The number of cases has been gradually increasing over time. What we saw in 2023 was more than the doubling of the number of cases compared to 2022 … There is a clear concern about the continuing spread of the disease, not only by zoonotic transmission but through person-to-person sexual contact,” she said. 

“What is also new about transmission in the DRC is that sexual transmission reported for Clade 1, a variant of mpox had not been reported prior to 2023. Now what we are seeing is newly reported sexual transmission in a different part of the country, which is not endemic for mpox.”   

Lewis said the disease is spreading in areas “where there is a lot of commercial back and forth, including cross-borders and a vibrant commercial sex trade.” 

The WHO reports mpox has expanded to previously unaffected provinces, such that almost all provinces. including Kinshasa, now are reporting cases. It warns that “represents a threat to neighboring countries and beyond.”   

WHO representative Sambo observed that humanitarian needs in the country are soaring, with close to 20 million people requiring health assistance this year. Despite all the compounding challenges, he said the WHO has been scaling up its health response since last year. 

For example, he said the WHO vaccinated almost 5 million people against cholera in November, most in the eastern provinces, and vaccinated millions of people against a deadly measles outbreak last year.  Next week, he said the WHO plans to start a polio vaccination campaign in all 26 provinces. 

However, he said that continuing such lifesaving programs will be difficult to do if the health response remains severely underfunded, noting that less than 14 percent of the WHOs $624 million appeal for this year has been received.   

He urges the world not “to turn a blind eye to a situation that could have severe knock-on effects for security and health in the region.” 

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US Pledges Additional $22M to Fight Terrorism in Mozambique

Maputo, Mozambique — U.S. officials pledged $22 million in new funding Thursday to help Mozambique fight Islamist militants in the country’s troubled, oil-rich Cabo Delgado, where an insurgency has intensified in recent weeks.

The United States already had pledged $100 million.

At the end of a five-day visit to Maputo, Anne Witkowsky, U.S. assistant secretary of state for conflict and stabilization operations, said the funding aims to help Mozambique with stabilizing and peacebuilding efforts in its northern provinces.

Calling security in north Mozambique critical, Witkowsky told VOA that the U.S.-financed programs provide training for local government officials to deliver services; promote social cohesion through peace clubs, sports and the arts; and increase educational and employment opportunities for youth.

“Mozambique is a priority partner country under our strategy to prevent conflict and promote stability,” she said. “So, the U.S. supports a Mozambique that is more prosperous, more secure, more resilient and more democratic for all.”

Since 2017, Mozambique’s province of Cabo Delgado has faced an armed insurgency, with some attacks claimed by an extremist group calling itself Islamic State.

On Monday, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi warned that terrorism could divide the country, advocating that citizens unite to fight rebel groups in the province.

Nyusi spoke after missionaries, priests and religious sisters were forced to flee from remote towns and villages to Pemba and other large cities, which are overwhelmed with persons displaced by the conflict.

Nyusi said resolution of the problem depends on the unity of Mozambicans and foreign forces supporting them.

The Reverend Marcos Macamo, a scholar of African theology and religious sciences, is part of a coalition of religious and civic advocacy groups that are urging the government to open negotiations with the militants. But, he said, even diplomacy has its own challenges.

“The terrorists … wouldn’t have power unless local people give them information,” Macamo said. “They [locals] open the doors slightly so that the enemy can enter.”

The insurgency in northern Mozambique began in 2017 but has seen an increase in attacks since the beginning of this year. In the last few days alone, there have been several raids on towns and villages, and people have been killed or kidnapped.

According to humanitarian agencies, the insurgency has killed at least 5,000 people and displaced more than 1 million.

Oil giants Exxon Mobil and Total are among international energy companies developing natural gas projects offshore of northern Mozambique.

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Senegal Readies for Long-Awaited Presidential Elections

Senegalese say they are ready to turn the page and are excited to go to the polls Sunday to elect their next leader. This comes after weeks of debate and political crisis as outgoing president Macky Sall attempted to postpone the Feb. 25 elections by 10 months but was unsuccessful after the constitutional council overruled his decision. VOA Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo is in Dakar and has this story. Camera: Moussa Thioune

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World Food Program: Zimbabwe’s Food Insecurity Is Worsening

The World Food Program says Zimbabwe is at the peak of its lean season with 2.7 million people across the country facing food insecurity even before effects of an ongoing drought kick in. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Mangwe, one of the most affected districts.

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